Phonometrologist's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Älvjakt]

The problem with this track is that it doesn't feel complete by the end. Could've expounded on it musically a bit more. I like the rhythm and even the quirky production of it. I have no idea what the poem says and I think that would help me in figuring out the train of thought of what the music is trying to convey. If I were to guess the imagery or story of what the words mean by only hearing the music, I'd say this piece is similar to an earthly conquest. I hear rain in the beginning... or at least water. The motion in the melody circles around the E-flat Major or C natural-minor scale. You end in C minor so I'm just going to guess that's what the key is in, but it really doesn't sound all the minor hence why I'm struggling not to say it's in E-flat major. The motif circles around the C minor chord in the beginning, but you play B flat major--dominant of E flat. eh maybe it's just mixolydian. The melodic contour starts at an E flat then jumps down to G, moves back to E flat and down to D-- the leading tone. The melodic contour jumps down and up, and goes down and up by steps even passing the starting note to F, but only to go back all the way down through the scale. This is what we're being introduced to before the rest of the instruments come in, and I have no idea what to make of it. Not straight forward at all. It's hopeful and triumphant, but also not. Merely observing a certain beauty in a way but of what? And that makes me want to translate the poem, and why I think this piece is too short. It just leaves me wondering why I'm slithering around compositionally as that portrays my puzzlement to where I ought to stand in perspective as a listener. It seems like it's being told in third person.
Now what I mentioned might sound like a bad thing, but maybe this is the point. And it doesn't take away my enjoyment of this track either. Just merely trying to intellectualize why I feel this way upon listening to it. I could just let it wash over me without giving thought, but I find this intriguing enough to want to find some answers.

Alright...poem translated (keywords):
Frost/grass/Shimmer/eyes/laughter/forest/ALONE/malice/joy/world/despises/razor sharp/blood/hunt/fairies/memory/Loki

I think it does match the music in the sense of a carefree, alluring beauty of ?love?
I hear the narrator being enticed despite some kind of unexplained danger lurking, and isn't afraid to continue in finding out.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I love the effort you put in to this review, or should I say the observation?! :D
I agree that this piece ends a bit quickly. The reason might just be in that I couldn't write a longer song for such a short poem, and because I'm not really experienced at things like this XD
If I wanted to cop out I could always say that the incompletion is intended, as it symbolises the holes left in the memory of mankind now that faries don't exist anymore >:D!!! Alas, it's not the truth. That said, it's one interpretation.

I don't necessarily mind the messy production either, even though I understand why many do (and it sure could be better!)

I can also hear the rain, although in the story, there is none, as there is frost. I get the rainy mood from the tremolo strings and the zither.
I don't know if you hear it too, but already the first note of the piano feels pretty cold to me.

I have now translated the poem into English along with my sister, so I think it's easier to understand what it's all about now. We also translated the short story she wrote around the poem for you, and it stays very true to the original. I'll post in in a sec.

With the strings that play the melody in the second half of the first half I wanted to capture the rustling of the leaves, and with the interaction between the ziher and the strings I tried to portray the vibrant laughter.

You're spot on with the chords and patterns! Your ear is far greater than mine (that said, I'm not good at music theory).

I would say that most of this song is in C minor though, as it both begins and ends with that chord and scale. The reason why it sounds like it is in E major at times, I guess, is beacuse I wanted to show both the wonder and the sadness in the story. Now, there are more emotions to the story than this, but those are the ones I chose to incorporate into the piece.

I did use the B flat major yes. You will find that you can always squeeze in this progression in the C minor scale: C minor, A flat (major 7), B flat (major 7), and then either C minor or G minor (7). Works every time, you can even play G7 instead of G minor. I used F minor add 9 instead of A flat (major 7) in the beginning of the second line though, and I even put in a B dim after the G major before returning to C sus (4) => C at the word "night" . I hope that wasn't too much in there!

Apart from 0:33, where I play an odd D flat (major 7), I think I used the same scale throughout the song. I may have of course used one of the mode scales (like the mixolydian you mentioned).
I end the first verse with another take on the C sus => C that I used earlier, but in this case I used F sus => F instead.

In the second and third verse one could say that the tempo of the melody is doubled, as they together take as much time as the first verse did by itself. These are the verses that are talking about the creature, and the ones that imply the murder of the fairies, so I thought they should be more dramatic perhaps, with the climax at the end, whereas the final line has a different structure of it's own, as it reveals the "killer". Just some extra stuff which I'm not sure really make sense XD

And now you know exactly how bad I am at describing music!
Your analysis of the first verse is splendid though.

"It's hopeful and triumphant, but also not."

=> As I said, I wanted to portray both wonder and sadness. So you are pretty right in feeling that.
The story is being told in third person, so you are right there; it's about a made up past event based on Nordic mythology.

"...but I find this intriguing enough to want to find some answers."

As earlier was mentioned. In honour of your shown interest, we translated the story for you :) Hopefully, this will make sense of the things. I could've portrayed the madness shown by the villagers in the story, but I chose not to, as it isn't eminient in the poem itself.

Here it is:

~Early one morning, a dozen of dead fairies were found outside of a village towards the north, and among these dead fairies had sat a black cat with blood all around its mouth and on its paws. The villagers had tried to catch said cat in order to to kill it, for in this village fairies' dance on the fields was considered to contribute to a good harvest, but it was all in vain. It all ended with one man going insane and killing another, and it is said that this was due to the man having stared for too long into the cat's moon-yellow eyes. After a counsultation with the village elder, during which the elder had beshrewed the stupidity of the men, it came forth that the creature had assuredly not been a normal cat, but a god in an animal's clothing - Loki, based on the cruelty the cat had possessed. The song written in honour of the event has since spread througout the entire country and is part of many a bards' repertoire.~

I hope you enjoyed the read, and thanks a lot for your thorough and thoughtful review!!!

[Rathunas: Equilibrium Obscurum]

MAN I feel like cursing it's so good! Subtle subtle subtle
You seem to be able to now know exactly when and how much to use CAGE. I can't help but want to do a full blown atonal work when I start looking into it, but you use it quite tastefully. Something I'm going to have to think about. This piece is so inviting and captivating in a very unique way because it isn't in your face.
Upon my third listen now, I'm hearing Alien! I love this atmosphere. Because this piece isn't in your face, people might not make much of it at first, but it takes a special breed to write an ambient piece in manner such as this and fully create the perfect mood of wonder and foreboding.

[Snails]

actually loved this piece when you posted the video. However, with the snail it just made it harder to sit through the whole thing lol. I really do think this piece is interestingly beautiful. Love the chord progression and the quirkiness of the "noises."

Eagleon responds:

Awesome =3 Thank you!

Yeah, the video makes it that much slower, which was kind of the point. I also know Youtube is eventually going to get all pissyfaced at me for not using my real name, and they're also matching my "Content ID" to random crap left and right (I asked them in the dispute if I could have that ad revenue back, lawl) so I could have done some glitchy video editing and made it move with the music, but fuck it, they want to play Big Brother, they get a preexisting video of a snail slowed down even further.

[MM3: There's Still Life In Her]

I can sit in this atmosphere with ease and great delight, but with gradual increasing of layers, I find myself looking around. Really cool sounds such as that delay effect at 2:00. The moment calm in between the noise is quite intriguing. I can only wonder what imagery comes to your mind when writing this, because I'm picturing a giant mothership preparing to land among a silent gaze of people in dread.

Anchorwind responds:

I don't know how many of the Mother Machine projects you've bothered with, but the original album (MM) was laid out in a chronological story: from discovery, through destruction. MM:Afterparty was just me having fun trying to mix the MM sound with different genres/ideas. I'm not sure how much further I'll go with MM2015 as I'm just not as inspired as I once was, but this is certainly another rebirth piece - a rediscovering of the mother herself.

[Hopscotch]

Very hypnotic-- At times the motif is reminiscent to me of Interstellar. Enjoyed this one!

AlterCries responds:

I'm glad you liked it. :)

[The Showdown High Noon]

The beginning was interesting in the sense that I couldn't tell exactly how you were to going to play out the composition--sounded hopeful and then ominous. Interesting chord choices, and great guitar playing. The climax at 2:00 was a joy to listen to. Too loud for some? well who cares when it's this good-- 'Tis an anthem of westerns!

MurrayAtkinson responds:

thanx for the feedback and rating! much appreciated:) it is meant to be a bit longer and have time to develop, instead of just a 30 second loop.

Cheers

Murray

[POLY: Code 47]

Wo that melodic synth took me by surprise! With the beat and melody, I'm reminded of Manson's work in Resident Evil.
Unique stuff here and it leaves me with a sense of intrigue.

Anchorwind responds:

I'm very glad you enjoyed! Thanks for taking the time to review.

[The Last Dance]

Man this is fun to listen to! I didn't mind the sounds either as I think the heavy reverb helped--kind of gives a unique quality with all your interesting parts going on and your choice or arrangements. With your limited capabilities, you were able to create a really nice piece.
The frequencies sound quite warm to me-- downloaded! now i can just chill and relax on my bed while listening

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I don't know why exactly, but I tend to use tons of reberb. Actually, I think that is beacuse of the dreaminess it often gives birth to :3
Apart from the beginning, my arrangements were actually pretty random, as it wasn't the main aspect of this piece (which would be the transition practice). I like the result though, but the process was pretty much like: "Hmm, I wonder what It'd sound like if I combined Some heavily altered 8-bit percussion with two leads playing different melodies in the same rhythm while there's a somewhat filtered orchestra and piano in the background. Let's try it!"
Thanks for listening + downloading, and of course for leaving a nice review ;)

[Hostile]

You inspire me sir to reach to new heights and try new things! Love the idea of implementing the guitars for this.
But I'm too lazy, ha!
Love it!

Mattashi responds:

Thanks Phonometrologist :) I'm happy I inspired you and I can't wait to hear what new things you will come up with :D

[Ultra]

I was skeptical at first, but at 32 seconds, it gets really interesting--very nice sound and groove.
love the atmosphere. I just wish it developed a little more quickly. Good nonetheless.

MarkySpark responds:

Thanks for listening.